Education required to be a tattoo artist?

Answer 1

Aside from being well versed in art, as you should be a good artist before you attempt to get into this profession. A limited knowledge of perspective, color theory, human anatomy, shadowing, etc., will severely hinder your overall performance and will most likely stunt you in your career at a point. You will want to read as much as you can about tattooing...anything that you can get your hands on. Books that deal with the history of tattooing, the different forms of tattooing such as; coil, rotary, stick and poke, tebori, and hand tapping. Other than this you will want to procure yourself a formal apprenticeship with an artist who will show the technical aspects as far as health is concerned, the techniques of lining, coloring, and shading, how to properly set up and tear down, cross contamination and bloodborne pathogens teaching, how to build and repair tattoo machines, and the universe of other things that are involved in tattooing. This training coupled with the knowledge of art and of tattooing that you have taken the time to learn will take you along very far. Best of luck.